Three months short of polling day, he is easily the most discussed of Iran's presidential hopefuls. He speaks, he claims, "for the whole system", and is supported by many bureaucrats and pro-market economists. He clearly longs to return to the office that he occupied between 1989 and 1997, before he gave way to reform-minded Muhammad Khatami, who stands down after elections in June. So why does Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, at 71 as feline and inscrutable as ever, refuse formally to join the fray? Mr Rafsanjani purrs that he is waiting for younger men to come forward who could do a good job. His expected rivals include half-a-dozen hardline conservatives, besides staunch reformists who will probably be barred from standing by Iran's conservative vetting body. A more important stay on Mr Rafsanjani's ambitions, say associates, is that he has not received the go-ahead from his old friend and rival, the su: preme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
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机译：在投票日还差三个月时，他很容易成为伊朗总统满怀希望的话题。他声称，他的讲话“是针对整个系统的”，并得到了许多官僚和亲市场经济学家的支持。显然，他很想回到他在1989年至1997年之间担任的职务，然后才让位给具有改革意识的穆罕默德·哈塔米（Muhammad Khatami），后者在6月的选举后辞职。那么为什么71岁的猫科动物Ali Ali Barbar Hashemi Rafsanjani却一如既往地拒绝参加比赛呢？拉夫桑贾尼（Rafsanjani）pur笑着说，他正在等待能够干得好的年轻男人站出来。除了坚决的改革派人士可能会被禁止参加伊朗保守派审查机构之外，他的预期竞争对手还包括数十名强硬派保守派人士。同事们说，拉夫桑贾尼先生雄心勃勃的一个更重要的停留是，他没有得到他的老朋友和竞争对手su：前总理阿亚图拉·阿里·哈梅内伊的批准。
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